A helpful guide for UK retailers. How to get the most from the global shopper. Clearly written. Helpful tips. Plenty of facts. Short case studies from Arcadia and Selfridges.

1. THE RULES OF
ATTRACTION:
How retailers can win more revenue
from overseas consumers

2. DID YOU KNOW?
Critical to success is how retailers
manage this valuable source of
revenue for both themselves and
their consumers.
These consumers are coming from
both established and emerging
economies, and their thirst for
well-known brands far outstrips
local demand.
Demand is strong:
Retail prices
of many luxury
goods are 30%
higher in China
than in Europe
(China Daily)
30 %
30% of Burberry’s London store
sales are to overseas visitors
20
Global shoppers spend around
four times more than locals at high
street retailers (Global Blue based
on transactions since 1980)
%
%
%
Increase over 30%
Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand
30
50
Increase over 50%
China
Tax free shopping, which allows
consumers from outside the
European Union (EU) to claim
back the VAT on their shopping,
is a valuable source of both
indirect and direct revenue.
Increase over 20%
Japan, Russia, USA
The UK is a brand bazaar
for global consumers
Global growth of tax-free
amount spent in 2012

3. SIZE OF THE PRIZE
The Chinese account for
almost 20% of non-EU
international spending in
the UK, and the average
trip lasts about 13 nights.
VisitBritain
Every year 150,000
Chinese tourists come
to the UK - and at
Harrods they now spend
By offering tax free shopping
to your customers, you offer
them better value with no effect
Americans.
While some retailers have some
sort of offer for tax free shopping
to attract lucrative global
consumers into store, most are
still not offering the full range of
value added services such as
myCurrency , a dynamic currency
conversion (DCC) solution that
will attract higher footfall and
higher spend, particularly for
those customers who may be from
within the EU and cannot offset
the tax, but may still want to pay in
their local currency.
The Telegraph
The World Tourism Organisation
says the number of Chinese
tourists travelling abroad
increased from 10 million in 2000
to 83 million in 2012. About half
of them spend more than £3,000
a trip and account for 25% of
sales of luxury goods around the
world, giving them considerable
economic clout.
advantage in a domestic market
that is hugely promotions-driven.
Don’t miss the boat
You need services that are:
• Easy and convenient for you
and your customers
• Able to give you insight
into where the money and
opportunities are
• Seamless across multiple
payment methods and devices
• Secure (Payment Card Industry
Data Security Standards [PCI
DSS] compliant)
Here’s how …
83 million

4. THE TAX-FREE WORLD
Tax free shopping is not
just about luxury. It is
growing fast outside
the traditional high-value
and souvenir categories.
Shopping is becoming
global, with demand for
brands at all price levels
coming from all over
the world.
Strong British brands, such
as shoe retailer Clarks, often
command a price premium abroad
and are much more in demand in the
UK where prices are much lower.
British brands such as Burberry,
Mulberry or Barbour and
Church’s shoes, all carry a strong
British heritage.
Top 5 globe shopper nations by
Average Spend in Euros
China
778
Thailand
Watches
& Jewellery
765
Indonesia
Market
ST
875
Malaysia
USA
China’s top 3 categories
of goods by amount spend
640
31 %
532
485
Fashion
& Clothes
ND
Top 5 UK globe shopper nations
by Average Spend
London is the second most
valuable tax free destination after
Paris, by amount spent. And while
London attracts a huge proportion
of tourist spend, other UK cities
Bath are all popular, and Bicester
Village in Oxfordshire has become
a key destination for bargainhunting tourists.
Qatar
£1,299
UAE
£1,080
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
China
Market
29 %
£850
Department
Stores
23 %
£737
£712
£588
Others 17%

5. UNDERSTANDING
THE GLOBAL SHOPPER
Different nationalities
respond to different
selling techniques.
Store staff need to be aware of
cultural anomalies. For instance,
Americans demand attention and
personal service, and expect to
be ‘sold to’.
Chinese people like a friendly
approach and don’t like to be
kept waiting.
It is easy to offend Middle Eastern
consumers by asking questions
deemed too personal, or using
the wrong hand gestures.
For instance, ‘thumbs up’ is
considered to be an obscene
gesture.
Middle Eastern
Chinese
Russian
• Shopping is the favourite
activity of visitors from United
Arab Emirates with 56%
including shopping on their trip
• Around half of Chinese holiday
visitors to the UK go shopping
• Russians particularly like brands
and are prepared to pay but
expect high service standards
• Present-buying for friends and
family is a cultural norm, and
VIP treatment is popular
• 82% of UAE travellers are aged
25 to 54, and 66% are male
• Consumption rises sharply just
before and after Ramadan,
which usually occurs anywhere
between mid-July to early
September
Source: Global Blue
• Luxury branded goods in UK
stores are guaranteed not to be
fake so are popular purchases
•
under the age of 46 with 22%
under 30
• Many Chinese visitors do not
have a credit card so many
shoppers use cash
• 60% of Russians shop when
visiting the UK
• The Russian luxury traveller is
typically a young businessman,
with an average age of 44
• If money was no object, 38%
of Russians would choose
Christian Dior, followed closely
by Versace and Prada
• Russians respond well to
politeness, willingness to help
and attention

6. TAX FREE SHOPPING IS:
Good for your consumers
They win twice – by getting the
discount on brands that are
otherwise more expensive in their
home country; and, saving on the
tax. Combined, this can make their
purchases up to 50% cheaper
Good for retailers
They increase spend –
a well-managed tax free service
will encourage them to visit more
often and spend more
A valuable source of revenue that
is not price-sensitive, enabling
retailers to earn the full margin
Enables retailers to support
investment in stores and stock
even when local demand is
depressed

7. HOW TO BETTER SERVE
THE GLOBAL SHOPPER
Store staff who speak
several languages*
In-store signage
that has been translated
Brand heritage and culture
should be communicated
Training for sales staff in the
expectations of different cultures
Hello
Special services for
big spenders – delivery, taxi,
refreshments etc.
International sizing labelling
Accessible information on
tags displaying both prices
Reaching out to consumers
in advance with information
on brands, store location
* Department stores like Selfridges now employ dozens of Mandarin-speaking staff.
Personal shopping services
myCurrency

8. RETAILERS CAN OFFER A RANGE OF
SERVICES TO GLOBAL CONSUMERS
The process of reclaiming
tax paid at the point
of departure, usually
an airport, is relatively
onerous, governed as it
is by UK HMRC.
Anything the retailer can do to
make the end to end process
simpler and less time-consuming
for the traveller, is going to
increase their popularity as a
destination for shopping.
The paperwork should be made
as simple as possible for the
consumers. This will allow
them to see exactly what they
are paying when they compile
their expense reports.
The consumer’s sales receipt
should show:
• Cost of goods in the store’s
pricing currency
• Equivalent cost in the
local currency*
• Applied exchange rate
• Source of exchange rate
• Margin applied
Consumers should also be able
to pay through multiple devices
and services – traditional Point Of
Sale (POS), kiosks, and mobile
POS – payment methods
that they are increasingly
comfortable with and demanding.
myCurrency is a revenue
opportunity for merchants.
myCurrency enables visitors to
choose whether to pay in their
card currency or the local currency.
Rather than the bank getting the
currency conversion commission
once the consumer returns home,
myCurrency revenues are shared
between the merchant and the
acquirer providing the service.
Retailers can guarantee that,
through myCurrency, the
consumer is offered best or
better than market exchange
rates; and the chance to get a
refund if it’s not.
‘We primarily see myCurrency as a way of
improving the experience for customers, rather
than a source of income. The simple IT implementation
and staff training, combined with the customer service
benefits makes myCurrency a compelling service for us’
Arcadia

9. WHAT TO DO NEXT
While most retailers are
able to provide a service
to consumers who want
to get the tax back on
their purchases, relatively
few are able to offer the
range of services that will
make their stores a hub
for global shoppers.
As this guide shows, global
consumers expect a service
that removes as much of the
hassle as possible. Shopping
should be an exciting and
rewarding experience, as much
a part of their trip as visiting tourists
sites or doing business.
By sourcing the complete range
of payment services from a single
acquirer, retailers reduce both
costs and management overhead,
as well as earning valuable
revenue from myCurrency ,
and getting insight into consumer
buying patterns that will enable
them to plan for the future.

10. CASE STUDIES
Arcadia, with 2,500 fashion and
general merchandise stores in the
UK, has been using myCurrency
for over two years and the
service has proved both popular
recommend myCurrency
to other retailers. It has
allowed us to add real value
to our foreign customers
by making the cost of any
purchases they make in
store completely transparent.
They no longer have to wait
out how much something
has cost and, because we
guarantee them the best
rate, we often save them
money as well.”
“Since the introduction of
China Union Pay terminals
in our stores, we have seen
footfall of Chinese visitors
and the amount of money
they spend, particularly on
our luxury brands.”
Meave Wall, Director,
Selfridges

11. Background to WorldPay
WorldPay myCurrency is a
convenient service that gives
international cardholders the
choice to pay for goods and
services in their local currency.
• UK market leader in payments
• Championing the interests of
our customers
• 24/7 service from UK-based
contact centre
• Supporting Omni-channel
retailing
Worldpay.com
We are the UK market
leader in payments with
£275bn of transactions
a year.